by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
A free presentation called “Generation Rx” will be given from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11 at Sartell Middle School.
It will be the first of four programs sponsored by the Sartell-St. Stephen Drug-Free Coalition – one program each month through December.
The Sept. 11 program by Dr. Josh Lemm is meant to inform people of all ages about the potential dangers of misuse of prescription medications. Even life-saving medications can have an addictive or deadly aspect if misused. The current opioid crisis in the United States is grim testimony to that sad reality.
The Drug-Free Coalition’s four programs will all focus on substance abuse, its causes and ways to prevent the terrible scourges of addiction and abuse. All of the presentations will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room at Sartell Middle School.
The upcoming programs are the following:
Monday, Oct. 9: “TXT4Life” with speaker Molly Wiemann. TXT4Life is a free, crisis-based suicide-prevention texting program that provides counseling 24/7 every day of the year. Counselors help the texter get to a safe emotional and physical place and then direct the person in trouble to helpful community resources. The texter can choose to remain anonymous.
Monday, Nov. 13: “Central Minnesota Violent Offenders Task Force” with speaker Steve Soyka. Formerly known as the Drug and Gang Task Force, the renamed task force investigates crimes involving narcotics, prostitution and gang behavior, as well as other forms of violent offenses.
Monday, Dec. 11: “St. Cloud State University’s IMPACT Diversion Program” with guest speaker Jen Johnson. The statistics on alcohol-related accidents and reports of binge drinking among young people may scare some parents. U-Choose is SCSU’s education-based prevention effort and will share resources to help ease these conversations with youth, as well sharing a data-driven, evidence-based approach that works to empower students to make informed choices and understand the consequences of high-risk drinking and drug use.
